Definition of Gainsay

gainsay (transitive verb) - to contradict; to deny; to controvert; to dispute; to forbid

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How can gainsay be used in a sentence?

  1. How can the law as written gainsay me when I make thatclaim?

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  2. Far be it for us to gainsay the glories of the Italian kitchen.

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  3. So who can gainsay the efficacy or otherwise of Biden and Palin?

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  4. No amount of special pleading and spin can gainsay that harsh truth.

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  5. You dare gainsay the holy writ handed down ex cathedrafrom your Queen?

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  6. None of this is to gainsay the interests of the world economy in the region.

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  7. In theory, at least, inferior material, but who can gainsay the wine's elegance?

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  8. Ay, it was hard to believe with my own eyes upon it; but I could not gainsay my eyes.

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  9. None of this is to gainsay concern over AIDS in Africa, which is a genuine catastrophe.

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  10. Not to gainsay Gillian Welch's talent as a song-writer but her persona seems fake to me. ndm

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  11. But I don't want to gainsay the CIA's legal judgment on this because I'm pristinely ignorant.

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  12. But I don't want to gainsay the CIA's legal judgment on this, because I'm pristinely ignorant.

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  13. Most people who take this view do not -- and do not have to -- gainsay the patriotism of the doves.

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  14. But I cannot gainsay his own judgment in a 1936 letter to Vita: "You have a Sackville snobbishness."

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  15. He quoted the terms o 'the agreement, and nor Stile nor Red could gainsay him, being much disappointed.

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  16. She could take a hundred lovers over the course of our marriage and I would have no right to gainsay her that.

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  17. And in the case of the Guardian readers, demanding that even a mention of those who gainsay them must be outlawed.

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  18. "Ces't la vie en Afrique!" as the French might say; but to gainsay Jacques Chirac, "Africa is ready for democracy!"

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  19. Hearken to her Agamemnon, for to join in saving thy children's lives is surely a noble deed; none would gainsay this.

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  20. For the record, too, our purpose isn't to gainsay the probity of Mr. Mann's work, much less his right to remain silent.

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  21. But aside from considerations like that, can you point to where exactly Sunstein and Thaler have attempted to gainsay your choice?

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  22. Point is that no matter what Obama did, after careful consultation with all his advisors, these arm chair generals would gainsay any decision.

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  23. Say what you will about that view, it's hard to gainsay the economic gains that Singapore, Malaysia and China all made over the last 30-odd years.

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  24. To gainsay the perceived opposition was only a preliminary step to demonising them and we've certainly seen that happen once or twice in our history.

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  25. Ricardo says: juris imprudent: If I choose to buy a car after doing due diligence with Consumer Reports, who has any right whatsoever to gainsay my choice?

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  26. No amount of blaming this disastrous outcome on the weaknesses of the local Democratic candidate or her Republican opponent's strengths can gainsay that fact.

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  27. No amount of blaming this disastrous outcome on the weaknesses of the local Democratic candidate or her Republican opponent's strengths can gainsay that fact.

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  28. This means that, in ordinary conversational contexts, self-attributions enjoy a presumption of truth, and it is unreasonable or improper for others to gainsay them.

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  29. None of this is to gainsay the genuine hardships that many of the uninsured face, but we prefer the approach Mr. Obama ran on in the 2008 primaries against Hillary Clinton.

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  30. As for the colour of the man's skin it surely is entirely irrelevant though it does gainsay the charges of racialism often levelled against the States (and not without reason in the past.)

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  31. If I choose to buy a car because the ads for it had the most beautiful people in exotic locations, or the car doing the physically impossible, who still has the right to gainsay that choice?

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  32. Alliance; With many other Arguments which he produced in favour of his beloved Gypsie; none of which his Mother could gainsay or disallow: But in fine, she was far unfit for his Quality or Fortune.

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  33. Whatever you are, journalist, scriptwriter, comedian, if you gainsay the BBC agenda you would be highly unlikely to get much work from one of the most influential broadcasting corporations in the world.

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  34. For five years McCain had no narratives to gainsay, so more than most Americans he understands the precious right to contradict every d@#n thing that comes out of one's mouth in the space of just two short breaths.

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  35. Admitting the Mubarak regime's contributions to America's interests in the region doesn't gainsay the reality that keeping aging autocracies in power, with no feasible successor in sight, is a status quo that isn't sustainable.

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  36. Also we feel calm towards those who humble themselves before us and do not gainsay us; we feel that they thus admit themselves our inferiors, and inferiors feel fear, and nobody can slight any one so long as he feels afraid of him.

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  37. And when virtually all the African-American Clinton appointees began, one by one, to disappear, when the President's body, his privacy, his unpoliced sexuality became the focus of the persecution, when he was metaphorically seized and bodysearched, who could gainsay these black men who knew whereof they spoke?

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Tips for Using gainsay in a Sentence

You may have an easier time writing sentences with gainsay if you know what words are likely to come before or after it, or simply what words are often found in the same sentence.

Frequent Predecessors

Words that often come before gainsay in sentences. For example: "to gainsay" or "not gainsay"

  • to
  • not
  • can
  • could
  • will
  • would
  • shall
  • or
  • dare
  • should

Frequent Successors

Words that often come after gainsay in sentences. For example: "gainsay the" or "gainsay it"

  • the
  • it
  • .
  • that
  • him
  • them
  • this
  • his
  • or
  • her

Alternate Definitions

    A sentence using gainsay